Adnams

Our current seasonal selection has all you’ll want, from light and fragrant Nutbourne Bacchus, Gold-medal bubbles from Dorset's Furleigh Estate, through to England’s first off-dry sparkler from the pioneering Nyetimber. Choose between the impressive debut traditional method sparkling cider release from Jake’s Orchard at Hush Heath in Kent or the more weighty Henney’s Vintage 2011, the victor in our Cider vs Wine challenge.

From Adnams’ refreshingly moreish Sole Star, for those who want flavour without the units, to the utterly delectable and recently relaunched Courage Imperial Russian Stout, ideal with any chocolate that may be kicking around the house.

Cider took on wine and won with resounding success at its first battle for the diners’ hearts at The Thatchers Arms on 2 February.

Despite an all-glittering wine cast provided by Harpers Best Sommelier of the Year Emily O’Hare and Adnams’ Dan Probert, the selection from eighth-generation cider maker, Henry Aspall and Beer Writer of the Year, Pete Brown took four of the five rounds.

I’m thrilled to report that tomorrow I’ll be heading to the hills of Chiltern to launch Chiltern Brewery’s Jubilee Sparkling Ale. It’s a real honour for DrinkBritain.com to be among the first to taste this limited edition brew, fashioned by the oldest independent brewery in Bucks and the Chilterns.

Long champions of great local produce, the Jenkinson family has joined the right royal tradition of commemorative ales with a ‘champagne-style’ rich amber ale.

Special occasions have long been marked with special brews, with commemorative beers from iconic brewers such as Bass long being cherished.

Bearing in mind some of the more entertaining Royal Wedding paraphernalia out there, it seems to me that the British drinks industry has acquitted itself rather well. After all, there is a fine tradition of special brews for special occasions in the world of beer, with many older breweries having done this for generations, including Adnams – three and counting.

According to Beer Genie, the custom really ramped up around the time of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, when 70 were brewed. When Charles and Diana wed in 1981, the number more than doubled to 147.

East Anglia’s much loved coastal brewery, Adnams, stepped outside its comfort zone before Christmas with the launch of its own gin and vodka in a move dubbed “a natural progression” by head brewer, Fergus Fitzgerald.

Although not uncommon on mainland Europe, Adnams is the first UK brewery to add a distillery. “The only reason it hasn’t happened before was that it was illegal,” says Fergus. “But this changed five or six years ago. Brewers could never be distillers before, based on when duty was charged on the amount of grain used rather than the product.